


I don't like sleeping. My crimes follow me

by SunTraitor



Category: Original Work
Genre: Body Horror, Major Illness, Religion, Sickness, The plague
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:15:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22413832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunTraitor/pseuds/SunTraitor
Summary: Edmond hasn't had a good night's rest since the plague broke out.
Kudos: 1





	I don't like sleeping. My crimes follow me

"Please... young man..." A frail, sickly, old lady pleaded, reaching out to him. He gripped his cane tighter, heart racing. He knew she was ill, but that wasn't what scared him. 

Black bile poured from her eyes and mouth. Her hands were scabbing and peeling. Her hands seemed to burn as she made contact with his robe. 

He gasped, tearing the fabric out of her grasp. She groaned, collapsing completely. He was trembling. He needed to help her. He had to help her.

She desperately crawled back towards him, moaning sickly. "P...Lease.." She begged, grabbing his robe again, her hands burning upon contact. 

"S...Ir..." Another woman's voice came from behind. He was frightened, turning to look at her. She had long, thinning, brown hair and the same black bile pouring from her face as the first lady.

She reached for his robe, attempting to pull herself up, the first lady doing the same. 

He froze up, not knowing what to do. Another sickly lady crawled towards him, grabbing his ankle. "Doc...Tor.." She whined in pain. A man followed, reaching for his medicine pouch. 

His breathing quickened, his heart racing. He saw more men and women crawling, felt more hands grabbing him. They were all practically screaming in his ears for help. His head felt like it was vibrating from all the noise.

"I-" He stammered, trying to come up with a cohesive sentence. "I don't know! I'm sorry!" He shouted, tears pricking his eyes. They did not cease. They didn't even hear him. They kept screaming, moaning, groaning in pain. They were sick, all of them. He was supposed to help. He was supposed to know what to do. He was a doctor for Christ's sake!

His ears rang, he was deafened by their screams and his own pounding heart. They prayed. They screamed for forgiveness. They begged for salvation. 

He looked around frantically. His ears hurt from all the noise, loud static began to fill his brain, drowning out the screams and prayers. He couldn't help them. Nobody could. They were doomed the moment they fell ill. Their prayers fell upon deaf ears, for God had turned his back on them long ago.

He cried out, gripping his cane with white knuckles. "ENOUGH!" He screamed, swinging at several of the sickly clinging to him. He finally had room to breathe. He cast them all aside, but they would not cease. 

The sickly old lady dragged herself towards him yet again, continuing to beg for his help. She reached her hand to grab at his robe, but this time he was expecting it. 

He slammed the metal cane down onto her head. She choked on the black bile but appeared otherwise unfazed. "I- I'm so sorry!" He cried, covering his mouth. "I- I just... I thought-" He stammered, tears rushing down his cheeks.

He gripped his cane tighter, trembling all over. She moaned, reaching out again. "Hel...p... Us.." She pleaded. "We...'re... Sic...k." She cried weakly. 

His heart dropped. They were all dependent on him, but he couldn't help them. NOBODY could help them. 

Then it struck him.

Like a whisper in the wind, he realized it. He couldn't cure them. It was useless to try anymore. The treatment wasn't working. He couldn't put them through anymore needless suffering.

He could take their pain away. He had to take their pain away. He gripped his cane ever tighter, looking at the poor, old lady clinging to his robe. She had been a long-time patient of his. In the time he'd been treating her, she NEVER got better. This was what he had to do.

He raised his cane, taking a deep breath. He had to do this. 

The cane collided hard with her head. She coughed up small amounts of the black bile in response, a loud crack was heard. He cringed in disgust, swinging again and again. She chocked on the bile, curling in on herself like an injured worm. Thick, black blood poured from her broken skull as she continued to moan in pain. He didn't stop, not until she stopped moving entirely.

She fell still after a dozen hits. Then, like dominoes, everyone started falling. Everyone fell to their knees, crying more of that black bile. They curled in on themselves, their shrill, weak, sickly yells fading into nothing. The screaming had finally stopped.

He sighed, wiping the tears from his eyes, only to realize they weren't tears. 

It was the same black bile all the others had. He stumbled backward, gasping in horror and unintentionally inhaling some of the bile. He choked, crying more. He wasn't ill, he couldn't be ill! He was supposed to be a doctor!

He fell back into the pile of bodies, black bile beginning to cover his eyes and fill his lungs. He cried out as his vision faded to black.

He jolted awake, his heart pounding. His hair was hot and messy, and his shirt damps with sweat. A nightmare, that's all it was. He couldn't shake the sounds of screams, which sounded like a distant yell now. 

He took deep breaths, his heart beginning to calm down. He ran a hand through his hair in stress. He looked out the window. It was late at night, very few people were out at this hour. His eyes scanned the roads and buildings. He found multiple dead bodies hidden away out of sight. He wanted to throw up, he knew he should have, but he had become so desensitized to death that he just couldn't.

He groaned, rolling on his side. He needed to sleep. The authorities could deal with the bodies tomorrow. He needed to worry about himself right now.

He tossed and turned for what felt like hours until he could finally fall back into a feverish sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> first work on this account! i'm REALLY proud of it, and i hope y'all enjoyed it too <3
> 
> (im v hyperfixated on plague doctors atm)


End file.
